The son of a government-employed calligrapher, Beian excelled in the 'scribe's style' and 'square style' of calligraphy. He is said to have possessed over 5000 examples of Chinese painting and calligraphy from the Ming and Qing periods. The Chinese poem is by a Song dynasty poet called Zhang Ci. It can be translated as:

'The scent of happiness fills the pavilion;Spring shows itself in a grove of pine trees and bamboo'